But while finishing second means England play Group H winners Colombia in the last 16 on Tuesday they will avoid potential clashes against Brazil, Portugal and Argentina if they survive that first knockout round.

His eight-change team was booed for their lack of intensity but boss Southgate admitted: “We are not happy to be beaten, but we had double objectives tonight.

“The knockout game is the biggest game for a decade for us.”

"We are not happy to be beaten, but..." Southgate admitted the game wasn't a must-win (Image: Getty)

Victory in Moscow would set up England for a quarter-final against Switzerland or Sweden a week on Saturday.

“I think it was an even game. I thought they had better controlled possession than us at times," said Southgate of the 1-0 loss in Kaliningrad. "It was a good test for us. It didn’t happen for Marcus Rashford tonight but we don’t suffer for it.

“We want to win football matches so we’re not happy to come away being beaten.”

“This was a game that we wanted to win, but the knockout game is the biggest game for a decade for us so we had to make sure our key players were preserved.

“The players who’ve played tonight have given absolutely everything and never stopped. Everyone’s seen the level that we’ve been playing at and we’ve got to keep improving.”

Marcus Rashford may have taken five-goal Harry Kane's place, but he couldn't fill his boots (Image: Daily Mirror)

England lost but rested many of the side that beat Tunisia and Panama ahead of the knockout phase (Image: PA Wire)

Had England topped the group, they would have faced Japan on Monday for the right to play either Brazil or Mexico in the last eight.

Midfielder Eric Dier said: “We want to win every game and we’re disappointed we couldn’t do that today.

“I thought it was quite an even game. We created some good chances. We needed to finish one of them, that was all that was missing really.

“Belgium have a lot of players with a lot of quality and the game was decided by a piece of great quality. No matter what, we’re disappointed we’ve lost today but the most important thing is that we’re through to the next round.”